The End of the Road, Part I

A man wearing a tie leaves his office preoccupied.  He finds his car in the parking lot and rummages around in the back seat filled with the files of paper, dirty clothes and other debris.

Another man wearing a fast food workers' apron and cap walks by the man wearing a tie.  He too is preoccupied.   But unlike the man wearing a tie, he is sweating in the hot sun.  The bus stop is far from his employment.  He is late for work and uncomfortable passing the man in front of the glass office building.

The man wearing a tie wants to say something to the man wearing the apron, but doesn't for some reason.  He drives off in his car.  Travels to the end of the road and breaks down.  He is ashamed of himself.  His life.  And its not just the mess in his car.  He thinks of the man in the apron again and the sadness on the man's face.  That man did not have a car.  Without thinking, he turns his car around and drives back to the man wearing the apron, who by now was several blocks away.

He parks his car ahead of the man.  The man with the apron looks around nervously as the man with a tie comes out of the car and towards him. But it happens too quickly for him to react.  He looks and sees that in the approaching man's hand is money.  He takes the money.

Neither of them say a word.  For the first time both men smile.  "God bless you," he says looking up to the sky, but the man with a tie is already back in his car, driving away.

Back in the car, the man with the tie wipes the tears streaming down his face with the tie.  He wonders if his new friend will be walking by tomorrow.